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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mark · bowl · face · mug · hand · track · field · clip

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. clip — a video
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. field — farmland
  7. track — to keep track
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a cup
  10. field — a subject
  11. track — a path
  12. mug — a face
  13. field — for sport
  14. clip — to cut
  15. face — to confront
  16. hand — help
  17. mark — a trace
  18. face — to point toward
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mark — a grade
  24. face — part of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com